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Judge: Elmore Superintendent can run as independent

The judge ruled in December that ruling in December that Elmore County Superintendent Andre Harrison was ineligible to be on the March ballot as a Republican, Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds must now decide if Harrison can lawfully run as an independent

Elmore County Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds ruled Wednesday afternoon that incumbent Elmore County Superintendent Andre Harrison is eligible to run as an independent.

Reynolds decided in December that Harrison was ineligible to be on the March ballot as a Republican.

The December decision stemmed from a petition filed by Probate Judge John Enslen, the head election official in Elmore County, as to whether Harrison’s name should be allowed on the ballot, citing that Harrison was missing key paperwork from the Alabama State Department of Education in his qualification for the primary.

Enslen previously told the Advertiser that the discrepancy was brought to his attention by superintendent contender Richard Dennis’ legal team. Currently the principal of Prattville High School, Dennis is now the only candidate for the Elmore County superintendent Republican nomination.

Following Reynolds’ decision, Harrison announced that he would run as an independent.

But Enslen had since filed for another emergency declaratory judgment from Reynolds, this time citing Alabama Code that states, “The judge of probate may not print on the ballot the name of any independent candidate who was a candidate in the primary election of that year.”

In his petition Enslen also refers to the “sore-loser law” which says, “If a political party disqualifies a candidate … that disqualified candidate can’t then appear (as an independent candidate) on any subsequent ballot for that election year.”

<FZ,1,0,16>Harrison’s attorney responded in a court filing that the “sore-loser law” only applies if a party disqualifies a candidate, “fewer than 76 days before an election and after ballots have been printed,” which he noted Enslen “conveniently” omitted from his petition through the use of ellipsis.

“Harrison was disqualified by the Elmore County Republican Party more than 76 days prior to the March 1, 2016, primary and his name was not and will not be printed on the ballot,” wrote James Anderson, who represents Harrison, in a court filing.

Anderson also argues that Harrison was never technically a candidate in the primary election, and that Reynolds lacks jurisdiction to rule on this, stating in a filing that, “Alabama code severely restricts a court’s jurisdiction to hear actions challenging the conduct or result of elections.”

During a Wednesday hearing in Elmore County Circuit Court, Anderson and Keith Howard, who represents Dennis, argued in front of Reynolds on whether Harrison was ever actually a candidate.

“The sore-loser law says the judge of probate may not print on the ballot any independent candidate who was a candidate in the primary election of that year. … Was Mr. Harrison a candidate in the primary election this year? We haven’t had that election yet,” Anderson argued. “Our position is real clear that this court has previously ruled that Mr. Harrison was not a candidate.”

But Howard contended this wasn’t the case.

“We have some different definitions and different contexts, but we say that clearly even if (Harrison) was not a candidate in the primary election under the sore-loser law, he was clearly a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party,” Howard said.

After the hearing, Dennis said he was not trying to oust Harrison from the race by way of technicalities.

“I don’t (have trepidation about running against Harrison). I got named in the petition just like (Harrison) did by Judge Enslen because I have a vested interest in what takes place,” Dennis said.

“We did ask a question about the complete files back in December. (Today’s hearing) was not something that we initiated. This was something that was initiated by (Judge Enslen).”